Is turnout always best?

Bertolie

Bertolie

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I have a 20 year old gelding recently diagnosed with low grade bilateral hock arthritis.

My grazing is on clay and paddock resembles mud soup! There is no grass and when turned out my 2 horses get a haynet each in the paddock. The 20 year old is really struggling with the mud at the moment and has been stabled since Tuesday evening. He looks really depressed and miserable when turned out. There is no alternative grazing available and no hardstanding I can turn him out on for long periods of time (he gets turned out on yard whilst I do stables).

I was always of the opinion that turnout was better for arthritic horses, but are there times when its not?

Just wondered what others would do......keep stabled until ground dries up a bit or turnout (with bute to keep him comfortable)?
 
There is nowhere local he could go for winter and as I don't drive it really needs to be within walking distance. We don't have an outdoor school just a small indoor but we are not allowed to turnout in the school. I turn both horses out onto the yard whilst I muck out and I would love to be able to leave the stable doors open and let them wander but other horses on the yard need to go through this area so its not feasible.
 
he would be better on retirement livery living out, turn out is always best IF it is safe, I have seen oldies and the weak go down in the mud and not be able to get up. For me with an oldie if I really could not provide any turn out and a move in yards really was not an option I would question quality of life
 
We have individual/pairs turnout and it is up to me whether I turn out or not. He does go out every day (unless the ground is totally waterlogged like it has been for the last few days ) but I can see he struggles with the mud. He isn't happy being out and as he has to have a haynet as no grass he just stands in one place looking miserable!

In those circumstances is it better to continue turning out or stable him where he is much more comfortable but not able to move around quite as much?
 
my boy has arthritic hocks and also his legs can swell when kept in. however he is kept in a large section of a barn with my mare, about the size of 4 large stables. so he moves around a bit more. we have clay fields by a river- currently they are completely water logged and the horses find it hard work. but i still turn them out and they do graze a little. he is out by 7am- 4pm.
although some may be trampled- i would spread the hay into a few piles in the field to encourage him to move around.
i don't have much time, or a school- but i have started walking him in hand for 10 minutes along a track before he goes in for the night, just to get him moving- as they barely move in the field. i also use fleece bandages to keep his legs warm- stops them swelling and he is less stiff in the morning. if he really doesn't want to be turned out can you try to take him for a leg stretch?
 
My mare had arthritis in both her hocks (one worse than the other) and she was always better when moving but it wasn't always that simple with her as she just adored her stable and on really crappy days flatly refused to leave it!! If I did force her to go out, she would just stand in the field looking miserable. I even struggled with her this Summer, when it was really hot - she preferred to stay in the stable, away from the flies and the heat.

I went with the theory that, although she was slightly stiffer on her legs, she was much happier in herself not being forced to go out every day. I did use magnetic hock boots on her and I know the jury's still out on their effectiveness but they did seem to help her a lot.
 
My mare, albeit young and not arthritic, has made it quite clear over the last few days that she wants to be anywhere but in her field. There is plenty of grass but she just won't settle, unless the weather is perfect by her standards. She will graze for five minutes then spend the next ten charging the fenceline and came in yesterday in a right stress after breaking a fencepost and rolling in the mud because she had got hot and bothered. Today, she stayed in, she's been ridden for a short while and spent a good long time outside her stable in the sunshine, before the rain came. She looks relaxed, unlike yesterday.

My take on it is that I would rather she was relaxed in her stable, being ridden and not galloping about in mud with the likelyhood of injury. Spring is not really too far away, and so I will play it by ear and put her out on the days when I know she will relax.

If your horse is unhappy in the field, then either ride him everyday or walk in hand, allow him the time to wander on the yard and then when/if it dries up he can go back out.
 
I had to keep my arthritic mare in over Xmas as YO stopped turnout - very waterlogged fields and track to the fields. I dusted off the magnetic boots and put them on while she was in and she was much less stiff than I'd expected. Also I used Thermatex leg wraps to keep her legs warm when she didn't have the boots on, made me feel better although I'm not sure if that helped or not !

I also handwalked, lunged and worked her in hand rather than ride as she's not a spring chicken and I didn't want to add my weight to her when she was stiff. Some days I lunged/walked in hand and then rode later, some days she had 2 sessions of in hand / walks around the lanes and through the floods.
 
Appreciate you canit turn out in school but you could hand walk for 20mins in there, that would be something rather than nothing as mud could really pull on his already sore hocks
 
Thank you for the replies, I'm not feeling quite so guilty about him staying in now!

He doesn't stiffen up in the stables and his legs don't fill either. He has stable chaps on overnight but I take them off during the day to allow his legs to breathe. He is on a veterinary joint supplement and also has turmeric, he is not on danilon at the moment.

He is ridden at the weekends but I am not able to walk or ride during the week as it is too dark at the moment.

I think I will continue to keep him in whilst the paddock is so muddy as he seems happier in the stable and will continue letting him have the run of the yard whilst I muck out.

Hopefully the rain will stop soon!!
 
I've got a 20 year old hunter that also could do with being out all the time as he is also a bit arthritic. He has been out pretty much every day but yesterday and today I have to concede defeat and leave him in as his field is utterly waterlogged and it needs a rest. I feel awful about keeping him in but he has been ridden for an hour both days and will be again tomorrow. I will also let him walk about the yard tonight when I'm doing evening stables. I think if you can get them out for a leg stretch once or twice a day it helps.

Lets face it - horses stay on box rest for days and days and seem to cope. Don't feel too bad - I'm sure he's not that worried!!
 
I have a 20yr old arthritic mare, we had a barn/stables set up, where my four could come and go as they pleased, due to underground streams and clay soil, mud was knee deep for the horses, my mare chose to stay in the barn and I would walk her out to graze. I lost a horse 2 yrs ago to the muddy conditions resulting in a field injury, causing pain related colic, not an experience I would like to repeat, I have since moved to well drained fields, the horses are loving having little or no mud and are so much more active in the field
 
Yes, turnout is always best. Is yard fenced? Could he be loose on yard with an open stable door for if it rains? He probably won't be running around anyway, so really you just want to keep him gently moving, doesn't have to be a huge space.
 
Unfortunately he cant be left loose on the yard during the day, only when I am at the yard in the morning or evenings. I managed to turn both horses out onto a small communal grassed area for an hour and a half yesterday whilst I pottered around at the yard. Unfortunately I wont be able to do this all the time :(

At least its now the weekend so can hack him out or walk him in hand. I'll worry about next week on Sunday evening!
 
Yes turnout is always best but unfortunately many livery yards cram too many horses onto too few acres resulting in a field of mud which is not good for horses.
My four are currently turned out on around 4 acres which is 99% mud free.
 
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